Screening a Resource of Recombinant Protein Fragments for Targeted Proteomics.

The availability of proteomics resources hosting protein and peptide standards, as well as the data describing their analytical performances, will continue to enhance our current capabilities to develop targeted proteomics methods for quantitative biology. This study describes the analysis of a resource of 26,840 individually purified recombinant protein fragments corresponding to more than 16,000 human protein-coding genes. The resource was screened to identify proteotypic peptides suitable for targeted proteomics efforts, and we report LC-MS/MS assay coordinates for more than 25,000 proteotypic peptides, corresponding to more than 10,000 unique proteins. Additionally, peptide formation and digestion kinetics were, for a subset of the standards, monitored using a time-course protocol involving parallel digestion of isotope-labeled recombinant protein standards and endogenous human plasma proteins. We show that the strategy by adding isotope-labeled recombinant proteins before trypsin digestion enables short digestion protocols (≤60 min) with robust quantitative precision. In a proof-of-concept study, we quantified 23 proteins in human plasma using assay parameters defined in our study and used the standards to describe distinct clusters of individuals linked to different levels of LPA, APOE, SERPINA5, and TFRC. In summary, we describe the use and utility of a resource of recombinant proteins to identify proteotypic peptides useful for targeted proteomics assay development.

Immunoproteomics using polyclonal antibodies and stable isotope-labeled affinity-purified recombinant proteins.

The combination of immuno-based methods and mass spectrometry detection has great potential in the field of quantitative proteomics. Here, we describe a new method (immuno-SILAC) for the absolute quantification of proteins in complex samples based on polyclonal antibodies and stable isotope-labeled recombinant protein fragments to allow affinity enrichment prior to mass spectrometry analysis and accurate quantification. We took advantage of the antibody resources publicly available from the Human Protein Atlas project covering more than 80% of all human protein-coding genes. Epitope mapping revealed that a majority of the polyclonal antibodies recognized multiple linear epitopes, and based on these results, a semi-automated method was developed for peptide enrichment using polyclonal antibodies immobilized on protein A-coated magnetic beads. A protocol based on the simultaneous multiplex capture of more than 40 protein targets showed that approximately half of the antibodies enriched at least one functional peptide detected in the subsequent mass spectrometry analysis. The approach was further developed to also generate quantitative data via the addition of heavy isotope-labeled recombinant protein fragment standards prior to trypsin digestion. Here, we show that we were able to use small amounts of antibodies (50 ng per target) in this manner for efficient multiplex analysis of quantitative levels of proteins in a human HeLa cell lysate. The results suggest that polyclonal antibodies generated via immunization of recombinant protein fragments could be used for the enrichment of target peptides to allow for rapid mass spectrometry analysis taking advantage of a substantial reduction in sample complexity. The possibility of building up a proteome-wide resource for immuno-SILAC assays based on publicly available antibody resources is discussed.

Investigating the applicability of antibodies generated within the human protein atlas as capture agents in immunoenrichment coupled to mass spectrometry.

For identification and characterization of proteins in complex samples, immunoenrichment coupled to mass spectrometry is a good alternative due to the sensitivity of the affinity enrichment and the specificity of mass spectrometry analysis. Antibodies are commonly used affinity agents; however, for high-throughput analysis, antibody availability is usually a bottleneck. Here we present a protocol for immunoenrichment coupled to mass spectrometry in a high-throughput setup, where all steps from bead coupling to mass spectrometry sample preparation are performed in parallel in a 96-well format. Antibodies generated within the Human Protein Atlas project were tested for applicability as capture agents. The antibodies were covalently attached to protein A beads, making it possible to reuse the coupled beads at least three times without destroying the antibody binding efficiency. Target proteins were captured from a U251 MG cell lysate, eluted, digested, and analyzed using mass spectrometry. Of 30 investigated antibodies, around 50% could successfully capture the corresponding native target protein, making the available library of more than 21 000 antibodies a valuable resource for immunoenrichment assays. Due to the diversity of different antibodies regarding affinity and specificity, analyzing antibodies in a high-throughput format is challenging. Even though protocol optimization for individual antibodies can be advantageous for future studies, our method enables a fast screening strategy to determine the usefulness of antibodies in immunoenrichment setups. In addition, we show that the specificity of the antibodies can be investigated by using label-free quantification.

Miniaturized and automated high-throughput verification of proteins in the ISET platform with MALDI MS.

A major bottleneck in high-throughput protein production is the validation step, which is why parallel and automated sample processing methods are highly desirable. Also, a miniaturized sample preparation format is preferred, as the reduction of reagent volumes significantly decreases the analysis cost per sample. We have developed an automated and miniaturized protein sequence verification protocol for recombinant proteins utilizing peptide mass fingerprinting and MS/MS analysis. The integrated selective enrichment target (ISET) platform, previously developed in our group, with its dual functionality, being both a sample preparation platform and a MALDI target plate, is employed. All steps including immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography of protein on cobalt-loaded beads, tryptic digestion, and MALDI MS analysis are performed in an array format, without any sample transfers, on the same ISET chip. The automated configuration reduced the sample preparation time significantly. Starting with crude lysate, a full plate of 48 purified, digested samples prepared for MALDI-MS can be generated in 4 h, with only 30 min of operator involvement. This paper demonstrates the utility of the method by parallel analysis of 45 His-tagged human recombinant proteins.

Antibodies as means for selective mass spectrometry.

For protein analysis of biological samples, two major strategies are used today; mass spectrometry (MS) and antibody-based methods. Each strategy offers advantages and drawbacks. However, combining the two using an immunoenrichment step with MS analysis brings together the benefits of each method resulting in increased sensitivity, faster analysis and possibility of higher degrees of multiplexing. The immunoenrichment can be performed either on protein or peptide level and quantification standards can be added in order to enable determination of the absolute protein concentration in the sample. The combination of immunoenrichment and MS holds great promise for the future in both proteomics and clinical diagnostics. This review describes different setups of immunoenrichment coupled to mass spectrometry and how these can be utilized in various applications.

Parallel production and verification of protein products using a novel high-throughput screening method.

Protein production and analysis in a parallel fashion is today applied in laboratories worldwide and there is a great need to improve the techniques and systems used for this purpose. In order to save time and money, a fast and reliable screening method for analysis of protein production and also verification of the protein product is desired. Here, a micro-scale protocol for the parallel production and screening of 96 proteins in plate format is described. Protein capture was achieved using immobilized metal affinity chromatography and the product was verified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS. In order to obtain sufficiently high cell densities and product yield in the small-volume cultivations, the EnBase® cultivation technology was applied, which enables cultivation in as small volumes as 150 µL. Here, the efficiency of the method is demonstrated by producing 96 human, recombinant proteins, both in micro-scale and using a standard full-scale protocol and comparing the results in regard to both protein identity and sample purity. The results obtained are highly comparable to those acquired through employing standard full-scale purification protocols, thus validating this method as a successful initial screening step before protein production at a larger scale.